PHT honors 3 with fan appreciation awards

Saturday

Dec 29, 2012 at 4:09 PMDec 29, 2012 at 4:14 PM

Luke Smucker

Pontiac Township High School Class of 1958 graduate Keith Jones and 1966 Pontiac Township High School graduate Linda Zick and her husband Doug were recognized on Thursday as the 2012 Pontiac Holiday Tournament Fan Appreciation Award winners for their continuous support and attendance of the tournament.This year, both Jones and the Zicks were part of the fastest-selling season ticket sales that Holiday Tournament Director Jim Drengwitz has seen since he became director in 1994. Drengwitz said in mid-November, people such as Jones and the Zicks who purchased season tickets the prior year, receive notification that they can reserve their season tickets in advance. On Dec. 5, season tickets went on sale to the general public and Drengwitz said this year, by Dec. 22, the first day of the tournament, only 18 of the 600 season passes were available to be purchased and those were sold by 10 a.m.“I think this is due to the fact that Jabari Parker and Simeon Career Academy are in the gym — I know it’s nothing I’ve done,” said Drengwitz. “We try to keep those guys here and they are the hook that brings everybody in. Fans come to see that player, or that team and hopefully when they get here, they realize there are other great basketball teams here as well.”For Jones, a Saunemin resident who still remembers his first holiday tournament experience as a Pontiac Township High School student back in 1953, his reason to come to the tournament is to see all the coaches and friends he has made along the way. He appreciates seeing some of the young freshmen players who slowly step into their stride as team leaders over the course of their high school basketball careers.“I am here every day in the morning and I stay here until the last game is over at night,” said Jones. “I missed the 1963 and 64 tournaments because of time I spent in the Army, but I like to tell people Uncle Sam went for me those years.”Jones received his tournament award on Friday morning due to the fact that he went home feeling ill early Thursday night. He said Friday morning when he came in, he was presented with an award he felt lucky to be considered for. Drengwitz said Jones has been coming to the tournament since Drengwitz was about 3 years old. To Drengwitz, a history of support for the tournament is a feat worth recognizing.“I had no idea I was going to be picked to win the award,” said Jones. “I didn’t get a call last night or anything, so I had quite the surprise waiting for me when I came in this morning.”For Linda Zick of Fairbury, the holiday tournament is an event she has been attending since the early sixties, when as a child she would go with her father Paul Schauble and color in a coloring book on the sidelines in the Pontiac National Guard Armory while he watched.“I remember being at the armory with him,” said Zick. “He was a big sports fan.”Drengwitz said the Zicks were chosen mainly because of Linda’s attendance of the tournament with her father as a child. Her father had seats in the front row of the armory and the Zicks have those same seats now during the tournament. “Her dad passed away and almost 40 years ago she introduced Doug to the tournament and they’ve been coming almost ever since,” said Drengwitz. “We try our best to thank all of our annual season ticket holders publicly as much as we can, but there are some fans who have gone above and beyond the calling. To me, anyone who has gone to this tournament and hasn’t missed more than two tournaments in 60 years and always buys season tickets — that is quite an accomplishment. We try to recognize as many of those folks as we can when we’re aware of it.”Doug Zick, who grew up on a farm in the town of Thawville said as a kid, his dad and brother would often come to Pontiac and watch the tournament. Doug Zick said he started coming with his wife in the 1970s and when his wife’s parents lived in Pontiac, the couple lived in Forrest, so they would come and stay at her parent’s place during that time. These days the Zicks usually start their tournament watching late into the second session of the first day. “We will stay and then of course we always go to the semi-finals and the last day,” said Doug Zick. “In Fairbury, a lot of people watch Derrick Rose now. I like to tell them about how we sit on the front row and could almost touch Rose during the tournament — they appreciate that. We have also seen some Illini players like Brandon Paul play high school basketball here at the tournament.”Linda said they have come so often that anymore they like to try and spot players who they think will be in the spotlight in college. “We’ve gotten to a point where we can kind of spot some of the kids we think could be stars later on in life,” said Linda Zick. “Once they get to college, we follow them as much as we can. The Illini are our favorite team, but even if they don’t play for Illinois, we follow these guys if we see their teams play; just to see what they are doing. Sometimes we are flipping channels and we realize one of the guys was a Pontiac tournament player, it makes us smile a little bit.”